Salary: April 8, 2014, through June 30, 2014, the board shall pay the pre...

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Contract terms

Term: April 8, 2014- June 30, 2017

Salary: April 8, 2014, through June 30, 2014, the board shall pay the president a prorated annual salary of $150,000. From July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015, the board shall pay an annual salary of $160,000. Annual increases the next two years are to match the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation.

Merit pay: Board members can also give a 3 percent merit pay bonus after the president’s annual review, but the contract stipulates that Mastroianni may not receive an increase of more than 6 percent more than his prior year’s total creditable earnings in accordance with state law.

ROCKFORD — New Rock Valley College President Mike Mastroianni will begin his tenure with a salary significantly lower than his predecessor.

Mastroianni will receive a prorated annual salary of $150,000 through June 30, 2014, then $160,000 through June 30, 2015, and annual increases that match inflation the following two years, according to the terms of his three-year contract.

There’s also a possibility of a 3 percent merit-based bonus, but all together that’s still much lower than the $179,071 that previous president Jack Becherer was paid in his final year at RVC.

One board member said that it’s because Mastroianni doesn’t have the same community college experience.

“That’s just what we all agreed on,” Trustee Katherine Kelley said. “Mike doesn’t have as much community college experience. He hasn’t served in this capacity before and Jack did.”

There’s also a 6 percent cap that restricts the new president’s salary, according to state law.

“He’s capped at $160,000 outside of a merit-based increase, which is significantly less” than Dr. Becherer, Board Chair Michael Dunn said. “The salary is fair for a chief executive in a community like Rockford.”

Mastroianni was not available for comment.

The board earlier this month approved Mastroianni’s new contract through June 30, 2017.

Mastroianni has served Rock Valley for 16 years in various capacities, including interim president.

Becherer was president of Wenatchee Valley College in Wenatchee, Wash.,from 2001 until he was hired by RVC in 2004. He left RVC in January.